Category Archives: mushroom

Theres something inherently comforting with things that are breaded and fried. This is my go to dish at least once a week. Commonly known as Schnitzel around the world, it is classically made with veal but can also be made with pork. Usually I serve this thin breaded chop milanesa style with fresh heirloom tomato and lemon dressed arugula. I’ve stuffed it Saltimboca style with proscuitto, sage and shaved parmesan too. It can be served Austrian style with just a lemon wedge or with a rich earthy mushroom sauce (Jager Schnitzel von Schwein). Versatile and super easy, this dish would be great with anything topped or served aside it. Other ideas…potato salad, sauerkraut, japanese curry, the list is endless. In recipe searches I found jager or mushroom sauce could be beef based or milk. I prefer the thicker dark brown sauce over the milk based one, but if you gave me a pint of buttermilk I would happily turn this into a southern rendition of chicken fried “pork” steak with cream gravy. I’ve tried this Standard Breading Procedure (SBP) out on other cuts of meat (chicken cutlets, cube steak) and found that with pork, i’ve had the most success with the breading staying on the cut of meat. I prefer a buttermilk and a double flour dredge for chicken and beef.

Prep all your sauce and side dishes before hand so that when the pork is finished you can plate it up immediately.

Pork Cutlet Preparation:

Start with a boneless pork chop, butterfly and pound thin

so thin, it’s like stained glass if held up to the light

dust with flour

dredge in egg

dredge in panko bread crumbs

Jager (Brown Mushroom) Sauce Prep:

into a hot skillet (with ample oil)crisp until golden (6-7 minutes on each side)

The sauce is simple and straight forward. Depending on what you have in your pantry you can use beef stock or bouillon cubes. For every one pound of mushrooms that is seared, add two cups of liquid. Bring to a boil and thicken with a cold corn starch slurry to your desired consistency. Set aside.

Once you’ve decided to go the breaded meat route, choosing your sides and toppings is the difficult part. We have a eclectic local restaurant that serves up tasty Austrian/ Dutch and Belgian fare and someone made mention of their Jager Schnitzel, which is by far one of the best I’ve ever had. Hence the Germanic leanings in my side dish and sauce, I had a craving.

With apples in abundance and a half head of cabbage in the ice box, a delicious tart and bacony braised side dish warranted some execution.

Braised Apples and Cabbage:

baby apples, one with a gold stripefrom top to bottom

peeled apples

cored and sliced apple

roughly slice the cabbage

Start by browning thick cut pieces of bacon in a hot pan. Once the bacon becomes a golden brown, pour off most of the bacon grease and add the apples, onions and cabbage. After a couple of minutes softening, add 1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup of stock or water and a liberal dash of salt. Allow the vegetables to cook down for about 10-12 minutes. then place in a 400 degree oven for 5-7 minutes while you finish up the breaded cutlet.